If Yuri Danshi was written to give Yuri Fanboys a taste of what it feels like to have one’s emotions parsed uncomfortably closely, then Minamoto Hisanari’s Fu~Fu (ふ~ふ) was clearly written to explain important things about lesbian relationships to those same Fanboys in the cutest possible manner.

We are introduced to Kinana and Sumi, who have just begun living together after having been a couple for some time. Now that they are living together, they talk about what to call each other, since “lover” no longer is enough. Kinana asks if she can be Sumi’s bride, but that doesn’t feel right either (although Sumi does use “hanayome” 花嫁 later in the chapter.) Eventually Kina suggests a homonym for the word fuufu, which represents husband and wife, 夫婦. Since they are both wives, they should be called fufu, 婦婦. (So, technically a neologism and not really a homonym, since fuu and fu aren’t pronounced the same, but I don’t suppose that anyone but me cares about that.)

The second chapter of this volume is by far and away my favorite. If you are a regular reader, you know how much I long to read stories that focus on domestic life of an established couple. And, perhaps,  you know about my fondness for my big pluffy bed. So to have a chapter in which Su-chan and Kina go out to buy a pluffy bed of their own makes me happy beyond words. The fact that it’s a brutally adorable chapter helps.

Sumi and Kina go on a honeymoon, we meet Kina’s big gay sister Kanana, and their equally gay neighbors Hayase and Komugi. Every chapter is filled to the brim with appallingly cute lesbians.Of course no one uses the “l” word, but Hayase and Komugi do state plainly that they are lovers. Close enough.

The final two chapters are stories that ran in ES-Eternal Sisters, Volume 1 and Volume 2, from back in 2004 and 2005.

What I said in my original comments on Fu~Fu stands – this manga is important. Using moe art and adorable characters, this series quietly, cutely teaches Yuri Danshi what a lesbian relationship looks like, what is important to us, what daily life is like.

My personal favorite scene is the beginning of chapter 3, when Sumi announces work is over, and Kina points out how patient she’s been. They both stare at each other and throw their arms up…and give each other a great big hug. I mean, really. How cute/real is that? That kind of thing totally happens in my house nearly every day. (No, that is not sarcasm. I mean it.)

So, if no one I know was pining for a glimpse into the inner life of a Yuri Fanboy, almost everyone I know has been waiting with anticipation for a series like this, in which a lesbian couple is portrayed with honesty, affection and healthy dollop of cute.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9
Character – 10
Lesbian – 10
Service – 5

Overall – 9

Fu~Fu  is *so* close to perfect, Minamoto-sensei deserves heaps of praise. I’d like more of this please!